bench

UK: /ˈbɛntʃ/ US: /bɛntʃ/ ,(bench)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bench /bɛntʃ/   n. 

[countable]
1. Furniture a long seat for several people:
   a park bench.
2. Law a seat occupied by a judge:
   The judge glared down at the prisoner from her bench.
3. Law such a seat when it is thought of as a symbol of the office and dignity of a judge:
   [singular* often: the + ~] appointed to the bench last year.
4. Sport
   • the seat on which the players of a team sit during a game while not playing.
5. Building a worktable or workbench:
   a carpenter's bench.

v. [~ + object]

6. Sport to remove from or keep from participating in a game:
   had to bench his star player when he didn't show up for practice.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bench  (bench), n. 

1. Furniture a long seat for several persons:
   a bench in the park.
2. Law a seat occupied by an official, esp. a judge.
3. Law such a seat as a symbol of the office and dignity of an individual judge or the judiciary.
4. the office or dignity of various other officials, or the officials themselves.
5. Sport
   • the seat on which the players of a team sit during a game while not playing.
   • thequality and number of the players of a team who are usually used as substitutes:
     A weak bench hurt their chances for the championship.
6. Sport [Informal.] See bench press. 
7. Building Also called workbench. the strong worktable of a carpenter or other mechanic.
8. Dog and Cat Breeds a platform on which animals are placed for exhibition, esp. at a dog show.
9. Dog and Cat Breeds a contest or exhibition of dogs;
   dog show.
10. Geology [Phys. Geog.] a shelflike area of rock with steep slopes above and below.
11. Mining a step or working elevation in a mine.
12. Civil Engineering berm (def. 2).
13. on the bench:
    • Law serving as a judge in a court of law;
      presiding.
    • [Sports.] (of a player) not participating in play, either for part or all of a game.

v.t. 

14. to furnish with benches.
15. to seat on a bench or on the bench:
    an election that benched him in the district court.
16. Dog and Cat Breeds to place (a show dog or other animal) in exhibition.
17. Mining to cut away the working faces of (a mine or quarry) in benches.
18. Sport to remove from a game or keep from participating in a game:
    to be benched because of poor hitting.

• Gmc *bank-i-; see bank¹
• bef. 1000; Middle English, Old English benc; cognate with Old Frisian benk, Old Saxon, Dutch, Old High German bank, Old Norse bekkr

bench′less, adj. 

Bench  (bench), n. 

1. Biographical Johnny, born 1947, U.S. baseball player.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bench / bɛntʃ/ noun

1. a long seat for more than one person, usually lacking a back or arms
2. a plain stout worktable
3. the bench ⇒ (sometimes capital) a judge or magistrate sitting in court in a judicial capacity
4. judges or magistrates collectively
5. a ledge in a mine or quarry from which work is carried out
6. (in a gymnasium) a low table, which may be inclined, used for various exercises
7. a platform on which dogs or other domestic animals are exhibited at shows
8. a hollow on a hillside formed by sheep

verb (transitive)

1. to provide with benches
2. to exhibit (a dog, etc) at a show
3. to take or keep (a player) out of a game, often for disciplinary reasons
4. to lift (a weight) by performing a bench press

Etymology: Old English benc; related to Old Norse bekkr, Old High German bank, Danish, Swedish bänk; see bank³